I hope this series on wildcrafting gives you a good start on the considerations for getting started on your own wildcrafting adventures.
This last section is a listing of resources available for further education.
But before I continue, if you've missed the earlier posts in this Wildcrafting series, you'll find them here:
Wildcrafting Part I - Introduction
Wildcrafting Part II - Why Wildcraft?
Wildcrafting Part III - Tools of the Trade
Wildcrafting Part IV: Before you Harvest
Wildcrafting Part V: Harvesting Guidelines
Wildcrafting Part II - Why Wildcraft?
Wildcrafting Part III - Tools of the Trade
Wildcrafting Part IV: Before you Harvest
Wildcrafting Part V: Harvesting Guidelines
Books
From Earth to Herbalist by Gregory Tilford
This book is a great resource for ethical wildcrafting. He covers almost 50 plants that are commonly found in north america.
The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants AND Nature’s Garden: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants by Samuel Thayer
Sam Thayer’s books are incredibly detailed, filled with many years of person experience. The plants highlighted in his books are more specific to the east coast of the US, but also have many plants that grow all over north america.
Edible Wild Plants: Wild Foods From Dirt To Plate by John Kallas
West coast forager John Kallas has written a beautiful and descriptive book covering 15 common plants.
Websites Resources by Herbalists
- United Plant Savers
- At Risk List from the United Plant Savers
- A pdf from Sevensong
- Ancestree Herbal Videos
These videos show specific harvesting techniques for a variety of plants.
Howie Brounstein has several articles on wildcrafting
- Ethics of Wildcrafting
- Wildcrafting for beginners
- Harvesting bark
- Harvesting Umbelliferaes
- Ryan Drum site that covers the following plants:
Nettle, Yarrow, Usnea, Wild Cherry Bark, Willow Bark, Dandelion, Plantain, Butterbur
- The Spiritual Dimension of Wildcrafting by Matthew Wood
- Deep As Root & Song: In Rambling Praise of Wildcrafting by Kiva Rose
Resources for Growing At Risk Plants
It is our mission to provide certified organic seeds and medicinal herb plants directly from our farm to you. Our’s is the largest selection of medicinal herb seeds available from the US, an alive, growing collection started way back in 1985 and tended up until–today! We know that its all about quality, and for this reason the vast majority of our seeds are grown by us, hand-picked, wind-winnowed, tested in a practical and rootsy manner, filled with love, in essence loaded with vibrant LIFE. Every year we change out our inventory to give you only newly harvested seeds.
Crimson Sage Nursery (Medicinal Plants Nursery), is a small family business nestled in the beautiful Klamath River Valley of Northwest California. We are surrounded by 5 rugged mountain ranges known as the “Klamath Knot” and our narrow, steep sided valley provides a fantastic growing climate for a large diversity of Herbs.
We offer some of the most extensive selections of rare Medicinal Plants in the country; including medicinal plants from the Chinese and Ayurvedic healing traditions, along with many rare Native American and European herbs.
Richters (Canada)
Richters has been growing and selling herbs since 1969. Our first catalogue dedicated to herbs came out in 1970. We have lived, worked and breathed herbs ever since.
Specific Plants (Web Resources)
Nome McBride and Milk Thistle…
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4
- Part 5 – shows using a screen to separate the seeds from the fluff
- Part 6 – using a fan to winnow the seeds
- Part 7 – picking out the last bit
- Jessie Conaway on Usnea
Do you know of more Wildcrafting resources? Please share in the comments!
This series of articles was originally written for www.herbmentor.com
